Go-go club changing hands

Officials hope owners change Spotlights

By:Alec Moore
   The Borough Council has yet to vote on approval of a liquor license transfer as ownership of Spotlights, a South Street go-go bar, changes hands.
   Nick Lemmo, who purchased the bar roughly one year ago, has sold the business to Michael Wizemann for $315,000.
   The bar is expected to be renamed as Wize-man’s Lounge.
   The council had planned to vote on the liquor license transfer at its last meeting on Jan. 27 but the resolution was pulled because the council’s Public Safety Committee had not reviewed the required background check conducted on Mr. Wizemann.
   During discussions on the matter, Mayor Angelo Corradino and council members agreed that while they do not want go-go bars and strip clubs in town, there is often little they can do to prevent it.
   "If we had the power to shut down every go-go bar and strip club in town, then I’d do it tomorrow. But we can’t, our hands are tied by the ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Control Division)," Mayor Corradino said.
   When the borough did attempt to shut down Frank’s Chicken House after it opened in the early 1980s, the mayor said, the effort was unsuccessful and cost the borough roughly $500,000 in legal fees.
   "I have nothing against Mr. Wizemann personally, but I wish he would change the bar into something else," said Councilman Martin Wierzba.
   The councilman said the borough should try to adopt a stronger approach to keeping lascivious businesses out of Manville.
   "The people … these kinds of places are bad for Manville," said Mr. Wierzba. "They don’t attract the kind of people we want here. I mean, when was the last time you heard a group of upstanding people come out of a church service and then say, ‘Hey, let’s all head over to the nudey bar’"?
   Mr. Wierzba stated he believes establishments such as Spotlights and Frank’s Chicken House are conducive to the distribution and use of drugs.
   Mr. Wierzba reported at the council’s last meeting that Mr. Lemmo’s background check revealed that he had been convicted of drug-related offenses on two separate occasions in 1983 and 1986.
   Mr. Wizemann did not return messages seeking comment before press time.